Sirius' New Friend
by PadfootPrints
Summary: Sirius' pet fish has passed away and he's very depressed. The Marauders must find a way to cheer him up again! Will they ever find a new friend for Sirius and will he be happy with it?
1. Goodbye Goldie

A/N: Takes place in 1st year, when they're all still young and immature, although I don't ever think they ever became mature as they got older. Anyway...  
  
It was the Sunday morning that starts the Easter holidays and Sirius was getting up early to feed his fish. He unscrewed the top of the fish food bottle and started talking to his fish,  
  
"Good morning Ms. Goldie! How are you today pumpkin?" Sirius tapped on Ms. Goldie's fishbowl glass frantically and then yelped, "MS. GOLDIE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"  
  
Suddenly, the small goldfish appeared from its small, plastic purple castle with sparkly green glitter and floated to the top of the water. Her eyes were all cloudy and she was...  
  
"STOP SLEEPING MS. GOLDIE! Its time to EAT! Get up!" Sirius poked his wand in the water and whirled it around. Ms. Goldie just whirled around and around in the water.  
  
"James! James! Remus, Peter! Help! Quick! Fetch Madam Pomfrey! I think Ms. Goldie is sick!"  
  
The 3 boys sprang from their beds and over to Sirius, who was circling the fishbowl, tears falling from his eyes.  
  
"Sorry Sirius..." Remus said quietly.  
  
"Why are you sorry Reemy?" Sirius sobbed.  
  
"Well, yo- your fish is gone, forever," Remus told him.  
  
"No! She's not gone! Maybe she learned a new trick like playing dead!" exclaimed Sirius.  
  
"Sirius, she's gone and moved on to better place. Let's have a moment of silence," said James silently.  
  
Sirius sniffed and took a deep breath and said in his most mournful voice,"You were the best goldfish I ever had."  
  
"He was your only goldfish Sirius," said James.  
  
"Shh, don't interrupt me! Anyways, since I was so rudely interrupted, back to Ms. Goldie. We're never going to take those long walks on the park. I'll miss those bubbly eyes of yours. Merlin how I wish to see those ravishing fins of yours waving at me as you swam in circles near the plastic castle and rubber-"  
  
At that very moment, Peter's stomach grumbled.  
  
"Sorry Sirius. Do you want my G.I. Joe in replacement?" asked Peter cautiously.  
  
"No Peter. I do not want your chewed up G.I. Joe with a missing arm and toe," said Sirius, irritably.  
  
Sirius then went back to his speech,"As you swam in circles near the plastic castle and rubber seaweed I put in the bowl for you."  
  
After 15 minutes of silence, Remus then suggested after lunch that they should have a formal funeral.  
  
"So does that mean we get to stir-fry her?" asked Peter excitedly.  
  
"How would you like if your best friend ate your other best friend?!" responded Sirius in outrage.  
  
"Oh sorry," said Peter.  
  
"Sirius, I heard that fishies go to Fishy Heaven if they go down the toilet," informed James.  
  
His eyes were wide open and exclaimed "Really?!"  
  
"Yes, really!"  
  
"Really, really?!"  
  
"Yes, really really!"  
  
"REALLY REALLY REALLY?!"  
  
"YES ALREADY!"  
  
"Then flushing it is!" said Sirius in a sing-song voice. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Ms. Goldie is happy forever!"  
  
---  
  
After lunch, the four friends went to their dormitory, and changed into their best black robes. They then gathered into the bathroom and hovered over the toilet. Sirius was holding Ms. Goldie's bowl carefully. He then gracefully turned it over and drained all the water out into the toilet, but Ms. Goldie got stuck on the side of her fishbowl, so Sirius had to smack the glass to get her off it. She then plopped into the toilet water.  
  
"We're all gathered here today to say good-bye to a very special fish to all of us, Ms. Goldie. Do any of you have any words to say to Ms. Goldie?" asked Remus. Sirius was crying uncontrollably on James' shoulder but got off of him to speak. He blew his nose into a tissue and began to speak,  
  
"Ms. Goldie was like a sister to me. I loved her. I remember when I overfed her, and I had to take her to St. Mungo's ER. She was one inch away from death and I saved her.. And another great time we had together, was when I was 8, and she was 3 and I took her to a muggle theme park. She went on all the upside-down rides with me. She was my best friend. I needed her, and she needed me. May Merlin and the Fishy Lords take her to heaven."  
  
All the boys were now shedding tears and blowing their noses. James and Peter then spoke together.  
  
"Ms. Goldie was the best fish you could ever want. She blew bubbles up for you, she was there to listen to your problems, and she even squirted Snape with water once!" James said.  
  
"Yeah, and she'll listen to you talk without ever interrupting. She was a very good fish. Yes, good fish," added Peter.  
  
"Its time," Remus said. All four of them threw flower pedals into the toilet and bowed their heads.  
  
Sirius stepped to the side of the toilet and pressed the lever. SWOOSH!  
  
Suddenly a bright light shined through the window and straight onto the toilet seat. Then, loud sound angelic voices rang out, "Hallelujah!" from no where.  
  
"Where did that come from?" Peter squeaked. The noises scared him.  
  
"I think its a signal from Bob that he made it to Fishy Heaven!" said Sirius.  
  
"You mean God?" corrected Remus.  
  
"That's what I said Reemy. I have a stuffy nose if you didn't realize!" snapped Sirius. "I'm so sad now that's she's gone! I'll never see see her again! I'll never come out of this room again! Good-bye world!" Sirius ran out of the bathroom and straight to his bed. He accidently missed the bed and landed on the floor. He clumsily got up again and dove into his bed. He covered head and pretended to sleep, but his friends all knew he was crying beneath those sheets. 


	2. Hello Ugly Cat

That evening, Sirius refused to get out of the bed and even to go to dinner (major crisis). His friends knew this was really bad. They went to dinner without him to discuss what they were going to do.  
  
"We have a big problem on our hands boys, Sirius isn't eating. This looks bad," James started.  
  
"What will we do?!" Peter squeaked dramatically.  
  
"How 'bout we get a new little friend for him?" suggested Remus smartly.  
  
"I knew you were a genius! Let's do our Marauder's Dance!" James exclaimed. The three boys stood up and danced uncontrollably around their seats.   
  
Peter took a fork and twirled it around like baton and clumsily dropped it on the floor. James danced over to the Slytherin table and shook his booty in Snape's face. Remus pulled him back to the Gryffindor table and danced there for about 2 more minutes.   
  
They then sat down, panting, and talked about what they should give him. Remus suggested that they give him a cat since they're usually not too hard to take care of.  
  
"Brilliant idea Remus! A cat! He'll love it!" Peter said excitedly. They did the Marauder's High-5 and then finished up their dinners. They then sent out an order form for a Siamese cat and went to bed.  
  
The next morning, the boys rushed to breakfast (Sirius refused to go but asked the boys to bring him back food) and impatiently waited for their parcel.  
  
"Where's our bloody cat?!" James demanded.  
  
"Maybe he was 2 Day Guaranteed Fed-Exed instead of Owled?" asked Peter.  
  
James and Remus had confused looks on their faces and were about to ask him about what he just said but right then a big cage fell from 4 owls' legs and onto Peter's plate of food.  
  
"Aw! I was about to eat that too!!" he whined. Remus tore off the packaging and grabbed the cage out of it. Inside was a rather ugly looking feline with dark brown paws and tail with a cream colored body full of short fur.  
  
"Uh, are you sure that's a cat Remus?" Peter asked nervously. He was never too fond of cats, they frightened him. "It looks quite, abnormal? I thought cats were only black or orange?"  
  
Remus and James rolled their eyes and picked up the cage and walked toward their dormitory. Peter grabbed some food for Sirius and followed them. Once in the room, Peter gave the food to Sirius and they all watched him eat it hungrily.   
  
"We have something we'd like to give to you Sirius. If you don't like it, just tell us, and we'll understand, but try to give him a shot, okay?" James said.  
  
"Uh, its a girl..." Remus corrected. He handed Sirius the cage and Sirius   
  
opened the door. Then he cautiously poked the feline and saw that it seemed harmless, so he poked it even more. The ugly Siamese cat sprang out and started running around the room madly. She hissed at all the boys and they all jumped on Sirius' bed. She remained on the floor and continued to hiss menacingly but then started   
  
advancing up the sheets. Peter was so frightened that he fainted and fell on the floor. The cat then jumped on him and sat on his stomach proudly.   
  
"Thank you guys, but I don't think I want him..." Sirius started.  
  
WOOF! *Cat scratches blanket*  
  
"What in the name of Merlin did that cat just do!? Did it bark?!" exclaimed Remus, his eyes glued on the unusual specimen.  
  
James quickly stunned the advancing cat and threw it back in the cage. He sighed a big sigh of relief and the three still conscious friends sat next to Peter on the floor.  
  
"We're sorry Sirius, we didn't know you didn't like cats..." Remus apologized.  
  
"Its okay guys, just don't ever bring a cat in here again."   
  
And with that, Sirius went on his bed and covered his head again. 


	3. Hello Rock

The next morning, James, Remus, and Peter went to breakfast without Sirius again (he refused to go to the Great Hall for any meals if they don't stop serving fish).  
  
"I can't stand seeing Sirius like that, we need to find him a new pet soon. Any new ideas guys?" Remus asked.  
  
"I saw this one kid carrying a hamster around the school, do you think he'll want it? I can take it from him!" suggested Peter.  
  
"No, Sirius had a bad childhood experience with hamsters, he was attacked by his aunt's. The little monster gnawed away half of Sirius' shoes in half an hour," Remus explained. (Peter looked horrified at this.)"How about a Chia Pet? I saw them on Muggle television once, they grow little trees on them, they look kind of interesting."  
  
"No, no. We need an exciting pet for Sirius! One that we can teach tricks to and play with endlessly without ever getting bored..." James said excitedly.  
  
"Oh! How about a turtle?! I love them!" Peter asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet.  
  
"I got it! A pet ROCK!" James shouted. Remus and Peter stared at him for a while, wondering whether he lost his marbles. James blinked and said,"Well they are loyal and have different personalities! It's worth a shot!"  
  
The others nodded in agreement. Afterwards, the Marauders set off towards the Quidditch Pitch where they found bundles of rocks. Each rock was different in size, shape or "personality".  
  
"I like this one! It's soft and green!" said Peter, excitement shone through his eyes.  
  
"That's because it's full of moss," informed Remus.  
  
"Let's not get a sharp rock. Remember what happened to Sirius with the pointy quill?" exclaimed James. He shivered at the thought of it.  
  
"Good idea," stated Remus, who was scanning the grounds for the perfect rock.  
  
"I found one!" shouted James, after 30 minutes of searching."Look! Look! It's not sharp, it has an interesting color, a tint of orange and white here. Not too big either. It'll be great!"  
  
"James, that's a leaf..." Peter said.  
  
"Oh. Well how about this one?" James picked up a small white rock with specks of dirt all over it.  
  
"The rock looks a tad...well...dull. Why don't we spice it up?" suggested Remus.  
  
The others agreed. Remus simply used his wand to add a smiley face on the rock's rough surface. He then smoothed out the edges so Sirius couldn't inflict too much damage on himself when playing with it.  
  
"There," said Remus as a final statement. They all gathered around the rock and admired it's features.  
  
"Sirius is definately like this pet!" squeaked Peter.  
  
They went back to the common room to find Sirius weeping on the armchair.  
  
"Sirius! We have a surprise for you!" shouted James with glee.  
  
"Another cat?" said Sirius flatly.  
  
"No, no! Surely not. This is a better pet!" James assured Sirius. James pulled out the chosen rock out of his pockets, plucking off bits of lint off of it, and he set it down in front of Sirius. Sirius turned his head on the side (like a dog does) and stared at it.  
  
"What does it do? Does he only know how to sit and stay?" asked Sirius curiously while looking at its smiley face.  
  
"Well yes. See, that's the good thing! He listens to you and he's a good friend, like Ms. Goldie was!" answered James. Remus covered his eyes with his hands, James had said the wrong words.  
  
"And?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised.  
  
"Well he likes to, er, pose for pictures! Remember: Pictures hold memories!" said James, trying his best to make Sirius happy.  
  
"You're right. He does look fun," said Sirius quietly. He reached towards the rock and picked it up, then strode towards the window and threw it furiously. The rock hit the glass and shattered it. The rock went flying out the tallest tower in the school and hit...a student at the bottom.  
  
"Dirty-trick-playing-fools!" shouted a dark-haired boy as he rubbed his head.  
  
"See James! We're playing hide-and-go-seek! He's hiding! I'M SEEKING!" shouted Sirius hysterically.  
  
"So it means you like the rock!?" asked Peter, a smile forming on his chubby face. Sirius glowered at Peter while he cowered and hid behind Remus.  
  
"Sirius calm down. The rock was only trying to be your friend," said Remus reassuringly.  
  
"My friend? My friend?!!?" said Sirius, waving his arms about and bashing Peter in the nose.  
  
"Didn't Ms.Goldie mean anything to you!? She's in a special place in my heart. Nothing could ever replace Ms.Goldie! No one I tell you! NO ONE!" shouted Sirius, half shouting, half sobbing.  
  
He ran towards the boys dormitories and slammed the door, but it wouldn't close. Sirius was tugging at the door with all his might but failed. He then muttered, "Stupid door." So he just dove under the blankets with the door wide open. 


	4. Hello Purple Stuff

"Ok this is getting ridiculous guys. Term starts again in 4 days! 4! Count 'em! One, two...uh...four!" lectured James as he, Remus, and Peter were sitting under their favorite tree near the lake.  
  
"We know already! Its hard to find something that Sirius will take seriously! Sheesh!" snapped Peter.  
  
"Calm down you two. What Sirius needs right now is something that will entertain him, something that he can just sit and play with for hours, like Ms. Goldie did. Something tha-" Remus was cut off by the jumping up and down of James.  
  
"THAT! THAT! THAT!" James pointed his finger at a 1st year Hufflepuff playing with a glob of purple Play-Doh.  
  
"Wow! Look guys! He's making a ball! How does he do it? That's amazing!" exclaimed Peter.  
  
"That does look interesting," Remus agreed, "but where on earth are we supposed to get a muggle item like that?"  
  
With that said, James rushed over to the student and gave her what looked like a reluctant hug. Then he snatched the jar of Play-Doh and ran back to his friends.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Peter.  
  
"Stupid girl wanted a hug, I better not have gotten cooties!" The three friends exchanged looks of disgust. They then opened the jar to discover that inside was a big piece of Play-Doh waiting to be mushed into something. They each grabbed a fourth of the Doh and starting pounding it. After 5 minutes of "creating their masterpieces," they presented each other with it.  
  
James went first. "I give you...the Whomping Willow!!" He held in his hand a little replica of the Whomping Willow. Considering it was all purple, it looked pretty close to the real thing.  
  
"Oh oh me next! I made a grape! Isn't it life-like?" Peter shouted. He pulled out from behind his back a rather large purple "grape" thing. James and Remus both thought it looked more like a mishaped rock than a grape.  
  
"Good job buddy!" James and Remus said.  
  
"Okay mine's isn't too good, I've never done this before, so don't laugh! I made a unicorn." Remus placed in front of him a beautifully sculpted purple unicorn. It had a perfectly braided mane and tail and was proportioned immaculately. James and Peter both stared at it for a while.  
  
"Yeah, you could have done better Reems," declared James.  
  
"Agreed," Peter commented. Remus smiled and carefully picked up his unicorn. The three of them started heading up to the dormitory, to wake Sirius up for lunch.  
  
-  
  
"Get up you lazy bum!" Peter was tugging at a immobile Sirius.  
  
"What do you guys want now!?" Sirius screamed into his pillow.  
  
"We want you to get back to normal, now get up!" yelled James. Sirius got up slowly and stared at all of them.   
  
"Get down to lunch and we'll tell you, now move!" Remus ordered.  
  
Sirius was afraid. Remus never raised his voice like that before. He quickly ran into the bathroom and changed and followed them downstairs.  
  
-  
  
"Ok now that we're here, we'll show you what we got for you," James started. Sirius let out a loud groan.  
  
"Guys, I don't wan-" he tried to say but he was presented with a tube of Play-Doh and 3 objects. "What's this?"  
  
"We'd like to introduce you to Play-Doh. Its this mushy stuff that you squish until you make something!" Peter informed.  
  
Sirius observed each of their sculptures carefully and then took out some Doh for himself. His three friends gave a sigh of relief to see that he was enjoying himself with it. Sirius started rolling the Play-Doh into a snake and smashed its head.  
  
"HAHA! Slimy Slytherins!" he said loudly.  
  
He continued playing with it all the way to their dormitories. He was shaping it into something his friends couldn't recognize yet.  
  
"See? Aren't you glad we got you up today?" Remus asked. Sirius didn't reply. He hopped on his bed and threw the clay figure he was working on at the already broken window. He missed the window so the clay got stuck to the wall. It was hanging limply off the side. James and Peter rushed over to see what he made and signaled to Remus that he should stop talking and come look.   
  
Sirius had sculpted a magnificent replica of Ms. Goldie. It was much larger than her of course but it looked flawless. Sirius even carved out that one missing scale on her right side.  
  
"We're only trying to help!" shouted James.  
  
"I don't need you to!" Sirius retorted.  
  
"Too bad, we're going to help whether you want it or not," demanded Peter.  
  
"No!" screamed Sirius.  
  
"Yes!" yelled James.  
  
"No!"   
  
"No!"  
  
"Yes! And that's that!" screamed Sirius at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Ok then. Good night!" said Remus peacefully.  
  
---- 


	5. Will He Like It?

"I can't think of anything else to give him! We've tried cats, rocks, AND Play-Doh! He is absolutely impossible!" James shouted.  
  
  
  
"Amen," said Peter.  
  
  
  
"We just haven't found the right thing for him yet. You can't force him to like something, he just has to...kind of fall in love with it. You know?" asked Remus. James and Peter stared at him and then at each other and then shrugged their shoulders. Remus let out a sigh of frustration and looked around the Great Hall where most of the students were eating without a care in the world. He and his friends on the other hand had a major dialemma to deal with.  
  
  
  
Suddenly James jumped out of his chair and snatched the girl right next to him's catalogue of "Barbie and Ken's New Line of Fashion For School!"  
  
  
  
"Hey!" yelled the girl, trying to get hold of the catalogue.  
  
James ignored her and skimmed the first few pages.  
  
"What's that?" asked Remus curiously.  
  
"Protractors..sharpeners...golf balls..." mumbled James, flipping through the catalogue. "Ah hah! Here it is!"  
  
"What is?" asked Peter, while James slapped it on the table.  
  
"Look! It's a Barbie!! It's some Muggle catalogue and I found the perfect gift! And it has magic shipping too!" screamed James.  
  
"She's so pretty and beautiful! Her hair glistens in the sunlight. Her eyes twinkle. Her face is flawless. Her arms look like..well arms." said Peter, staring at the plastic doll.  
  
"Peter, it's a doll.." responded Remus.  
  
"Peter, it's just a doll," mocked Peter in a squeaky voice. "She's so gorgeous! Quick, call her over here! I want to meet her!!"  
  
  
  
"Peter, we mean she's a toy. Fake. Plastic. NOT REALLY LIVING," James informed Peter while Remus scribbled down a few words and ran to the owlery to deliver it. 5 minutes later, he ran back into the hall, panting.  
  
  
  
"Why did you rush?" James asked.  
  
  
  
"They. Said. Mail. Today. Before 10. Get. Before 12." Remus managed to get out.  
  
  
  
"Um, Remus, its only 8:30AM," Peter told him. Remus glanced at his watch and smacked his forehead.   
  
  
  
"They teach us how to read the future using the stars but they can't teach us how to read these watches!" groaned Remus.  
  
  
  
**4 hours later**  
  
  
  
"Its supposed to be here! Where is it?!" whined Peter. At that very moment, a large owl dropped a package in Remus' lap. They all stared at it like it was a gift from God. James then grabbed it and tore the paper off as fast as he could. He then held it up carefully and examined the precious doll in front of his friends.  
  
  
  
"She's kind of ugly if you ask me, Lily Evans is prettier than her!" James whispered.  
  
  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" roared a redhead a few seats down. The three friends winced and went back to examining the doll.  
  
  
  
"I don't think Sirius will like it," Remus said. James and Peter nodded their heads in agreement. "She's too, boring, even with her bright pink plaid uniform. What can we do to her?"  
  
  
  
Remus swished his wand around Barbie's foot and accidently caused it to catch on fire. Peter and James then frantically started throwing pumpkin juice on it to put it out. They both missed and all the juice landed on Remus. Remus then huffed and puffed (A/N: big bad wolf...lol) and blew the fire out.   
  
  
  
"That went well," James said sarcastically.  
  
  
  
"You try and do something to it then! Go on!" Remus said as he wiped his robes clean.  
  
  
  
James held Barbie by her hair and twirled her around. He then flicked his wand and she turned into a white stuffed giraffe.  
  
  
  
"This looks cool," James said smiling.  
  
  
  
"No it doesn't. I want to fix it," Peter said, grabbing the giraffe from James. He smacked the giraffe's neck with his wand and it turned into a plush cat. Peter sprung away from it, thinking it was real. "KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME! MUMMY!!!!"  
  
  
  
"I want to fix it now!" Remus demanded. Remus grabbed the cat.  
  
  
  
"No me!" James protested. James grabbed the other end of the cat and tugged it.  
  
  
  
"Me!"  
  
  
  
"Me!"   
  
  
  
"ME!"  
  
  
  
"ME times infinity!!!"  
  
"ME TIMES INFINITY PLUS ONE!!!"  
  
"I CAN'T COUNT THAT HIGH!!!!"  
  
  
  
They then both dropped the toy cat and started yelling spells at it. There were bright flashes of colors flying around the cat. After five minutes of spell yelling nonstop, the boys ran out of spells to use and waited for the smoke to clear out to see what they had made.  
  
  
  
"Can, can I come out now?" Peter squeaked.  
  
  
  
"Yes, I think its safe now. What do you think it is James?" Remus asked, picking up the toy delicately.  
  
  
  
"Whatever it is, its beautiful!" James exclaimed. And it was beautiful. In his hand, Remus held a beautifully sewn stuffed black dog with velvety soft fur and twinkling brown eyes.  
  
  
  
"Do you think he'll like it?" asked Peter.  
  
  
  
"There's only one way to find out!" said James. "Lets go!" 


	6. It Ends Here

The boys raced upstairs to find a moping Sirius again. The quietly tip toed over to Sirius' bed, where he had his whole body stuck under the sheets, and jumped on him.  
  
"OW-EEY!!!" chuckled Sirius. This was the first time he laughed since Ms. Goldie's death. "If you got me another toy, I don't want it."  
  
"Who said its for you?! Me and, er, Peter just bought this for Remus! Not you! Here Remus!" James shoved the dog into Remus' hand. He was confused but then caught on to what James was doing.  
  
"Er, yeah, thanks guys! I REALLY like my gift, its so cute and fluffy and soft!" Remus had said the three magic words. Cute, fluffy and soft.  
  
Sirius stirred from under his sheets. He was interested. "What is it?"  
  
"Come out from under there and we'll show you," persuaded Peter. Sirius pulled the sheets from over his head and looked at his friends, then at the dog in Remus' hands. He gasped and glared at Remus.  
  
"Don't you LOVE it Sirius? I sure do!" Remus said gleefully.  
  
"Yes-I-love-it," Sirius said and he really meant it. He hadn't seen anything so pretty since Ms. Goldie. "Can I, I mean, would you, I mean, I WANT IT!!!!!"  
  
James, Remus and Peter burst out laughing and gave it to him. Sirius hugged his friends then his new toy.  
  
"A name...he needs a name! How about Wobblefett?" suggested Peter.  
  
"No. Wolfie!" added Remus.  
  
"We need a name thats ferocious! Something that suggests extreme bravery and loyalty!"  
  
"Mr. Pookie!" Sirius exclaimed. His friends stared at him.   
  
"Mr. Pookie?" James asked.  
  
"That's his name! Don't wear it out!" Sirius smiled a gigantic smile and hugged the toy again. "He's still missing something." Sirius thought and thought about what was missing.   
  
It suddenly hit him. A piece of enchanted Play-Doh hit Sirius in the forehead at the exact moment he was about to cast his spell. There was a blinding yellow light and then when it was gone, what was left made Sirius burst into tears.  
  
"He's....so....perfect!" Sirius looked down through watery eyes at what he had created. His spell added a bright pink purple bowtie to Mr. Pookie's neck. Sirius looked at his friends and smiled and they smiled back. Finally, things were back to the way they were before.  
  
"This calls for a Marauder's Dance!" 


End file.
